Millville Goes Solar

I attended a press conference this morning that proves that my faith in our Millville leadership is not unfounded.

Of course the denizens of Millville First, people that have never created job one int he city will be quick to denounce the creation of almost 300 high-paying, skilled  manufacturing jobs.

MX USA is a multi-national group that plans on using our regions natural resource, silica, to produce solar panels. Did you know that there are no solar panels currently manufactured in the United states? The majority are inferior Chinese products.

This plant should be able to produce “Made in the USA” panels at a 25% reduction in price of the Chinese crap. And, they will not be made using sweat-shop slave labor, as is the case in China.

At the commencement of the press conference I had the chance to talk to a good friend. I said something to the effect that “this is a great thing for the city”. he replied, “I don’t know, I will have to see how it affects my neighborhood.”

I replied that anyone that would have anything bad to say about almost 300 new high-paying jobs in this economy can “suck my dick.” Sure, that is rude, and even more rude to a friend. But that sort of selfish short-sightedness is why Millville has for so long been sucking the dust of other cities. And it is only because we have leaders that refused to buy into that NIMBY attitude that Millville is the subject of conversation throughout not only our state, but states all over the nation.

Don Ayres worked long and hard to bring this project to Millville. Frank LoBiondo worked hard on the federal level to make sure this happened. Lou Magazzu, who reportedly never attended even one meeting has been furiously trying to jump on the bandwagon and take credit for this. Magazzu one time said to me that he brought the NJMP here. That, to me, was the height of insolence. No doubt he helped, but to take all the credit?

This manufacturing facility is going to give a much needed face-lift to an empty warehouse on South 2nd street. When in full production they foresee 280 full-time jobs, with wages in the $40,000 – $50,000 a year range.

If it weren’t for our infrastructure already in place – the shopping center and multitude of restaurants; the arts district; the Motorsports Park – would this international company have even considered Millville? Doubtful.

This just proves what can happen when #1; you have a plan and #2; businessmen and politicians cooperate leaving aside their partisanship, working for the common good.  This was a great partnership between business, the city of Millville, and the state of New Jersey. These three partners guaranteed success that will hopefully benefit all parties.

When we have breakthroughs such as this, it makes me proud to say “I am from Millville!”

On an aside, I talked at length with Matt Milam. He is a Democrat running for state assembly, and he is a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

I have to say this, because I have strongly attacked his positions and mistakes. He knows me, and he knows where I stand. However, he is man enough to put that aside and have a genuine conversation, proving that he does care about people. This is a person that Lou Magazzu could take lessons from.

Matt asked me how I was doing in my business as an artist. He asked how the merchants on High Street were doing. It wasn’t small talk, but proof that he does pay attention. This is not an endorsement of his candidacy, but who knows, he may have won my vote. Then again, maybe not. that is between me and the voting booth on November 3.

All I am saying is that either he is a grand con-man, or he has genuine concern for his constituents. I wish I could say the same about his running mate, Nelson Albano, who fought against 300 new jobs in Vineland a couple years ago.

Many will rant against the “low-paying” WalMart jobs. Just ask those 300 people if they would rather have a low-paying job or no job at all, and I think they will all agree. And if not for the WalMarts, the Targets, the Texas Roadhouses that have begun sprouting up in Millville and Vineland due to due diligence and incentives offered by perceptive municipal governments, higher paying manufacturing jobs such as the new solar panel plant in Millville would not be possible.

Cumberland County under Lou Magazzu has 13% unemployment. While this will not solve the problem completely, it will go a long way to proving solid employment not only in the facility, but in many supporting industries as well. Kudos to Don Ayres, mayor Tim Shannon, former Mayor Jim Quinn, Vice Mayor Joe Derella and to Kim Warker-Ayres – all local heroes that worked successfully with the state and private business to make this possible.